Case Summary

On May 18, 1914, George W. Schoenbeck and his lawyer William Wray filed a petition of habeas corpus. They claimed that Austin E. Griffiths and Charles Tennant were illegally holding Schoenbeck in jail, as they didn’t believe there was any official judgment ordering his detainment. Tennant produced evidence that Schoenbeck had, in fact, been charged with grand larceny in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and was a fugitive from justice. Based on this evidence, John F. Murphy, the prosecuting attorney, asked Judge Archibald W. Frater to dismiss the petition. Frater and Wray agreed, and the petition was dismissed. Schoenbeck was placed in the custody of an unnamed Minnesotan agent to be taken back to Minnesota.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Fugitive from justice

Sites of significance

• Seattle City Jail (Seattle, Washington)

Outcome

Petition denied

Fate of bound party

Custody transferred to third party

Case Citation

King County Government, Judicial Records, Superior Court, Case No. 101330

Source material(s)

Case File

Length of case file

Between 11 and 20 pages

Repository(s)

• Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch (Bellevue, Washington)

State

• Washington

People

• Schoenbeck, George W. (petitioner)
• Schoenbeck, George W. (bound party)
• Griffiths, Austin E. (responding party)
• Griffiths, Austin E. (holding party)
• Griffiths, Austin E. (respondent)
• Tennant, Charles M. (respondent)
• Tennant, Charles M. (responding party)
• Tennant, Charles M. (holding party)
• Frater, Archibald W. (judge)
• Wray, William (petitioner attorney)
• Murphy, John F. (respondent attorney)
• Steele, S. H. (respondent attorney)
• Gordon, John B. (authority ordering detention)

• Additional parties

  Wray, Williams (Notary Public)

  Sickels, W. K. (Clerk)

  Grant, G. A. (Deputy)

  Cudihee, Edward (Certifies Writ Delivery)

  Cudihee, John (Deputy)

  Smith, F. W. (Deputy)

  S. H. Steele (Notary Public)

  Myers, G. B. (Deputy)